10 November 2017

Sectarianism – Time to push that elephant out of the room

For too long, sectarianism has been this society’s ‘elephant in the room’ – to be evaded and avoided, and to never be tackled head-on

FOUR
WEEKS AGO, I and other republicans commemorated the execution of William Orr
220 years ago to the day at a little graveyard in Templepatrick, County Antrim.

William Orr was a United Irishman from
nearby Farranshane. His memory has been immortalised to this day with the
refrain “Remember Orr” – the battle cry
used to rally the United Irishmen and women during the 1798 Rebellion.

Orr was one of a group of famous United
Irishmen and women with very local associations to County Antrim, including
Roddy McCorley, Jemmy Hope, Henry Joy and Anne McCracken.

All of them continue to be remembered to
this day in song, poetry and prose.

During the H-Blocks Blanket Protest, Bobby Sands
penned a powerful poem Rodaí Mac Corlaí.
It is based upon the stories told by local POWs about Roddy and his betrayal
two years after the Battle of Antrim in 1798.

The United Irish tradition is central to
Irish republicanism. It defines the historic mission of modern day Irish republicanism
as the unity of Protestant, Catholic and dissenter, and the achievement of an
agreed united Ireland.

● Declan Kearney and South Antrim Sinn Féin at the grave of William Orr

The
United Irishmen and women developed the timeless principles of Irish
republicanism – anti-sectarianism, secularism and separatism.

These are as relevant today as they were in
the 1790s.

Sectarianism was used by the British state
as a colonial strategy in Ireland to divide and dominate since the Plantation.

After partition it became institutionalised
within the Northern state and was the glue which held together the unionist
one-party state.

Nearly 100 years later, Northern society
continues to live with its visceral legacy.

In the Six Counties, sectarianism moulds the
daily reality of citizens.

Sectarianism and sectarian segregation
influences our approach to educational preference; our choice of sport; how and
where to socialise; and, to some extent, our place of employment.

Sectarian attitudes are the most incendiary
catalyst for violence now and in the future, and for rationalising ­–
even legitimising – continuous
communal instability and segregation.

That was graphically illustrated by the
recent intimidation of four Catholic families in Cantrell Close in Belfast by
the UVF. This was a stark reminder of the pogroms against Catholic families in the
same area during the 1970s.

Sectarianism
is not a one-way street. It also exists within nationalism. It sits at the crux
of political, social and communal divisions in the North and permeates wider
Irish society.

Much important work has been done to address
its consequences by grassroots community workers, those active with interface
projects, the Community Relations Council, the integrated education and
Gaeloideachas sectors, the trade union movement, and many other citizens and
sectors in society committed to the Peace Process.

However, a step-change is urgently needed to
encourage a new, popular, sustained momentum against sectarianism.

That will require united political and civic
leadership.

Sinn Féin has tabled anti-sectarianism
proposals within every forum. We want anti-sectarianism to be ingrained within
our shared political and civic institutions.

Significant figures within political unionism
have opposed that approach.

Consistent with that failure in leadership is that when Sinn Féin councillors on Fermanagh & Omagh District Council this week
tabled a motion on anti-sectarianism, the unionist
councillors from the UUP and the DUP voted against it.

Nevertheless, this motion was passed despite
the opposition of the unionist parties.

Anti-sectarianism is not a zero-sum concept
to be negotiated on a win/lose basis.

Our starting point should be the Good Friday
Agreement, which set out explicitly the rights for all citizens to freely choose
their place of residence and to live free from sectarian harassment.

Anti-sectarianism should be at the heart of
a rights-based society. It should be embraced as a quality of life issue for us
all.

For
too long, sectarianism has been this society’s ‘elephant in the room’ – to be
evaded and avoided, and to never be tackled head-on.

As a contribution to changing that, Sinn
Féin has launched a ‘Stand Up Against Sectarianism’ campaign.

Last week we hosted a public discussion in
the Duncairn Centre, north Belfast.

It was an excellent event with
thought-provoking contributions from, among others, Patricia McKeown, Peter
Osborne and Fiona McCausland.

They variously addressed what needs to be
done to challenge sectarianism in the workplace by trade unions and employers;
the interlocking nature of sectarianism, racism, inequality and bigotry and
their political context; and the failure of our political institutions to do
more to advance integrated and shared housing as well as integrated education
at all levels.

Next Saturday, the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis will
debate a new document, One Community – Tackling
the Scourge of Sectarianism in Irish Society. It will bring forward
comprehensive anti-sectarianism proposals to be adopted as national policy by
our party.

The public and political discourse around sectarianism
needs to change.

All politicians – but particularly those
within political unionism – must start showing
real leadership to eradicate the pervasive influence of sectarianism.

It is unacceptable that unionist politicians
acquiesce in or encourage sectarian mind-sets or behaviour and play zero-sum
politics with the need for anti-sectarianism measures.

Sectarianism
should be defined as hate crime in legislation with appropriate legal
enforcement and sanction.

A commitment to anti-sectarianism should be
incorporated within the pledge of office for all publicly-elected politicians,
North and South.

Politicians in our society should be
responsible for actively promoting a citizens’ anti-sectarian charter at a
community level.

Anti-sectarianism should be common ground
for building bridges and integrating society.

Doing nothing means the prospect of a
shared, reconciled future is compromised on the rock of recycled sectarian
divisions.

Towards the end of the Duncairn Centre
meeting, a senior trade unionist asked whether sectarianism serves a purpose. I
responded that it does – by representing the biggest impediment to achieving
maximum social, economic and political transformation in the interests of the
many and not just the few.

Sectarianism is a blight on Irish society.
It is unjustifiable and it is the antithesis of progressive change in Ireland.

It’s time we pushed that elephant out of the
room; it’s time for all of us to stand up against sectarianism. #SUAS